TEXAS nurse/patient ratios?

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There seems to be quite a few of us that are interested in moving to TEXAS, myself included (preliminary stages), anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to find out what the patient ratios are like in different units. If you don't mind doing so, please post your title, city or nearest major city, unit, and average patient load. (If some want to post general wage info, that is helpful, but I don't mean to be intrusive...) Thanks and I will keep bumping this up so others can see it.

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Bumping this up...

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When I did work in a surgical unit RN in south TX, I usually had 10-14 pts by myself, no cna, no unit clerk. It was miserable, and very unsafe. This was at a major hospital in the Rio Grande Valley.

I'm told things are better in the major metro areas.

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

Tx Med Center hospitals - I see 2:1 for ICU, rarely 3:1, 4-8:1 for med/surg.

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I am currently at a hospital in Houston, not the med center, on an oncology unit. Our ratio is 4:1 with 1 NA for 18 pt's. Occassionally we will get a 2nd NA. My sister unit, med-surg on the same floor, has 1:7-8, sometimes with NA and sometimes without. This holds for days or nights. We draw our own labs, have rare houskeeping and RT's take multiple floors.

I was discussing ICU (worked in the past) that is located in the med center. CVHD never 1:1; frequent triples; very rare 1:1's. Charge nurse expected to take full load. Nurse manager frequently takes patients.

The other issue seems to be the physcians. Unless you are in a teaching facility the physcians are horrific. I have never been treated so poorly in my career. Yelled at, called stupid, belittled. It seems to be a little better after working with thes people for a year. I think that comes from diciding I am not taking it anymore. You jump at me, I'm jumping back! Luckily, I have a wonderful nurse manager who backs up her nurses. Not every unit does.

This issue intrests me also. I came from doing travel in CA so was shocked to say the least. If I could do it again, I would not have come here. I'm in school and made the mistake of buying a house so I'm stuck for awhile. As soon as school is done, I sell the house and I AM OUTTA HERE!

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Specializes in NICU Level III.
I am currently at a hospital in Houston, not the med center, on an oncology unit. Our ratio is 4:1 with 1 NA for 18 pt's. Occassionally we will get a 2nd NA. My sister unit, med-surg on the same floor, has 1:7-8, sometimes with NA and sometimes without. This holds for days or nights. We draw our own labs, have rare houskeeping and RT's take multiple floors.

I was discussing ICU (worked in the past) that is located in the med center. CVHD never 1:1; frequent triples; very rare 1:1's. Charge nurse expected to take full load. Nurse manager frequently takes patients.

The other issue seems to be the physcians. Unless you are in a teaching facility the physcians are horrific. I have never been treated so poorly in my career. Yelled at, called stupid, belittled. It seems to be a little better after working with thes people for a year. I think that comes from diciding I am not taking it anymore. You jump at me, I'm jumping back! Luckily, I have a wonderful nurse manager who backs up her nurses. Not every unit does.

This issue intrests me also. I came from doing travel in CA so was shocked to say the least. If I could do it again, I would not have come here. I'm in school and made the mistake of buying a house so I'm stuck for awhile. As soon as school is done, I sell the house and I AM OUTTA HERE!

Wow, I've been in a few ICUs in the Med Center and have never seen CVVH be more than 1:1, never seen NMs take pts, and only seen charges take half the load...usually 1 pt. I don't see how CVVH pts could be anything more than 1:1 as those machines have problems constantly!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I am an LVN at a nursing home, but I know an RN who works at Cook's Childrens neighborhood clinic and earns $28 per hour. It's a good deal to have all evenings, weekends, and holidays off.

Cook's Childrens also operates a bunch of pediatric hospitals in DFW, Texas.

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San Antonio - bad to worse in many of the hospitals -

Med Surge/ Acute Care/Telemetry - average 6-7:1 sometimes CNA's mostly not - after 7am - draw own labs in several facilities

Physicians horrible in some - way understaffed nursing in many

Hospitals do not staff by acuity most of the time. Just by numbers - it's very bad for the pt and even more so for the nurse that does her/his superhuman best to make sure the pt never knows just how scary the situation is.

Stress is getting to me bigtime -

I am actually looking at moving away from Texas...

(sorry - bad day!)

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Specializes in MS/Tele/Urgent Care.

Work in Corpus Christi, only 2 hospital systems; I work in larger system; acute rehab 6-8:1 no CNA/unit clerk, medsurg 4-6:1/CNA 17:1, unit clerk, icu 2-3:1; starting LVNs $10, exp LVNs $16; start RNs $16, experience RNs $26;attempting Magnet status - would rather leave floors short than fill in w/LVN because matrix calls for so many RNs NOT LVNs!:uhoh3:

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

Pediatric Orthopedic Floor, Houston - Average patient load 4 :) Sometimes goes up to 6 and even then its not bad at all. Pay: I get 26.50 for an hour

(1 full year of experience)

Hope that helps someone!

-Meghan

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Thanks guys, Just keeping this bumped up for others to post and see.

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Specializes in medical, telemetry, IMC.

i work in san angelo on a med/tele unit. i work nights and usually have 6-7 patients. we have a unit secretary until 2300 and about 2/3 of the time we do have an aide.

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